Generally, there are three ways to donate to the Chilliwack Foundation:

General Donations.

Donations by Will

Assignment of Life Insurance and other Designations

General Donations

Any person can make a donation to the Chilliwack Foundation at any time by providing a cheque or bank draft payable to the Chilliwack Foundation to the attention of the Treasurer of the Chilliwack Foundation. For contact information for the Treasurer, see the Contact Page.

You can donate to the Chilliwack Foundation by adding a gift to the Foundation in your Will. This is done by adding a paragraph or paragraphs to your Will specifically adding the Chilliwack Foundation as a beneficiary in your Will. Examples of these paragraphs are set out below.

It is important to note that the paragraphs below are intended only as examples of the types of the paragraphs that may be included in a Will in order to provide for a gift to the Chilliwack Foundation through the Will. If you are considering including one or more of the paragraphs below in your Will, you should discuss your specific circumstances with your lawyer.

Percentage Gifts

If you wish to leave a portion or share (eg. 20%) of your estate to the Chilliwack Foundation, you could use the following wording:

“I direct my trustees to deliver, pay or transfer _____ percent of the residue of my estate to the Chilliwack Foundation to be used for its general purposes.”

Specific Gifts

When you want to make a bequest of a specific amount of money or a specific asset, the following clause may be appropriate:

“I direct my trustees to deliver, pay or transfer the sum of $_________ to the Chilliwack Foundation for its general purposes.”

Remainder or Residue Gifts

If you wish to leave the remainder or residue of your estate, after paying debts and other bequests, to the Chilliwack Foundation, the following wording may be appropriate:

“I direct my trustees to deliver, pay or transfer the residue of my estate to the Chilliwack Foundation for its general purposes.”

Designated or Restricted Gifts

The clause below contains a provision that prevents your bequest from failing even if the specific purpose contemplated in your Will cannot be fulfilled:

“I direct my trustees to deliver, pay or transfer the sum of $________ (or ________ percentage share of my estate) to the Chilliwack Foundation to be used for the following purpose(s)__________________________________________. In the event that circumstances make the specific use of this gift no longer practical or desirable, the Board of Directors of the Chilliwack Foundation is hereby authorized to make changes in its use consonant with the spirit and general intent of the gift.”

Gifts to Take Effect Following the Death of a Lifetime Beneficiary

– You may want to provide for a spouse or other loved one during that person’s lifetime, and at the person’s death make a gift to the Foundation. Your Will would create a Trust for the person, and then provide for either a specified amount, a share of the residue or the entire residue to go to the Foundation at that person’s death, as follows:

“Upon the death of _________________, to pay the sum of $ _____________ to the Chilliwack Foundation for its general purposes.”

Gifts of Lapsed Gifts

You may want to make a gift to the Chilliwack Foundation if a person to whom you have left a gift dies before you. The following wording could be used:

“In the event that any bequest contained in this my Will shall by reason of death of any named beneficiary, or for other reason, fail to take effect, the said bequest shall be paid or transferred to the Chilliwack Foundation (the “Foundation”), to be used as the Foundation shall determine.”

All bequests should include the following clause:

“The receipt of any person purporting to be an officer of the Chilliwack Foundation, for the value of my bequest shall be a sufficient discharge to my Trustees. My Trustees shall not be required to inquire into the authority of such person to give a valid receipt nor to see the application of my bequest.”

Assignment of Life Insurance & other Designations

It is also possible to give to the Chilliwack Foundation by designating the Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, RRSP or RRIF plan.

Designating the Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or RRSP/RRIF plan means that your Estate will receive a charitable tax credit that can significantly reduce the amount of tax owed by your Estate after you pass away, leaving more funds to go to the people and causes you care about.

In addition, when you designate the Chilliwack Foundation as the beneficiary of your insurance policy or RRSP/RRIF plan, the proceeds will pass outside of your Estate and will not be subject to Probate Fees.

Please consult with your lawyer and accountant for advice on designating or gifting assets to the Chilliwack Foundation using a Will, a designation or other methods.

How can I create a permanent Endowment Fund through the Chilliwack Foundation?

It is possible to create a permanent endowment fund through the Chilliwack Foundation for both scholarships and for the benefit of specific community organizations.

When you create a Scholarship Fund you invest in your community’s future. The money used to create a Scholarship Fund is held in trust in perpetuity. The capital of the Scholarship Fund is preserved and only the income generated on the Fund is used to pay scholarships to students each year. In this way, the Scholarship Fund provides a permanent source of scholarships for deserving students in the Chilliwack community into the future.

The creation of a Scholarship Fund can help students – from preschool to postgraduate – achieve their lifetime dreams.

The creation and maintenance of Scholarship Funds through the Chilliwack Foundation can be summarized as follows:

You make a gift to the Chilliwack Foundation – you can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.

We set up a Scholarship Fund in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honour of any person or organization you choose.

You receive tax benefits in the year your gift is made.

You determine eligibility requirements for the scholarship you establish – whether they are based on a student’s field of study, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, financial need, background, or geography.

We handle all the administrative details and award annual scholarships to deserving students in the name of the fund you establish.

You receive updates on the impact your gift is making in our community. You may even choose to meet the students your gift is helping, something many donors find rewarding.

As noted above, the Scholarship Fund will provide a permanent source of scholarships for students into the future.

Endowments Funds can be created through the Chilliwack Foundation in the same way as the Scholarship Funds described above. Endowment Funds also have the same features as Scholarship Funds except the income from the Fund is provided to a particular community organization instead of a scholarship.

When you create an Endowment Fund through the Chilliwack Foundation, you have the opportunity to benefit the community now – and forever – with a permanent endowment.

The creation and maintenance of Endowment Funds through the Chilliwack Foundation is similar to the creation of Scholarship Funds and can be summarized as follows:

You make a gift to the Chilliwack Foundation – you can give cash, appreciated stocks, real estate, or other assets.

The assets used to create an Endowment Fund must have a minimum value of $20,000.

Once the fund has been established, any amount can be donated to add to the capital of the fund.

We set up the Endowment Fund in your name, in the name of your family or business, or in honour of any person or organization you choose.

You receive tax benefits in the year your gift is made.

Funds can be either designated to a particular community organization or scholarship or undesignated. Undesignated funds will be added to the general fund of the Foundation, the income from which is distributed each year by the Distribution Committee through the Foundation’s Grant programme.

If you choose to designate the Endowment Fund, you determine which community organization is to benefit from the income earned on the Endowment Fund.

We handle all the administrative details and distribute the income earned on the Endowment Fund annually to the community organization you have selected.

As noted above, the Endowment Fund will provide a permanent source of funding for the community organization you have chosen into the future.

We invest all Endowment Funds in a pooled account using a professional investment manager in conjunction with our investment committee.

Capital gains from investments are allocated on a pro-rata basis to each fund, quarterly, and added to the capital of the fund.

Administration expenses are allocated to the funds on a pro-rata basis at the end of each year.

It is also possible to give to the Chilliwack Foundation by designating the Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, RRSP or RRIF plan.

Designating the Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy or RRSP/RRIF plan means that your Estate will receive a charitable tax credit that can significantly reduce the amount of tax owed by your Estate after you pass away, leaving more funds to go to the people and causes you care about.

In addition, when you designate the Chilliwack Foundation as the beneficiary of your insurance policy or RRSP/RRIF plan, the proceeds will pass outside of your Estate and will not be subject to Probate Fees or actions brought under BC’s Wills Variation Act.